Do Poor Kids Need Art and Music Education?
This is one of the most important posts you will read this year–or next.
The Rocketship charter chain hopes to be the mass-produced model for poor kids in America. It intends someday to enroll one million children.
Jersey Jazzman takes a close look at John Merrow’s PBS episode about Rocketship charters. .
The children in these charters get no music or art. None.
The leaders of Rocketship don’t see this as a problem.
In their view, poor kids need basic skills, not the arts.
Affluent parents wouldn’t accept this kind of schooling.
It is not education. It’s just schooling.
It’s schooling on the cheap for Other People’s Children.
The Rocketship charter chain hopes to be the mass-produced model for poor kids in America. It intends someday to enroll one million children.
Jersey Jazzman takes a close look at John Merrow’s PBS episode about Rocketship charters. .
The children in these charters get no music or art. None.
The leaders of Rocketship don’t see this as a problem.
In their view, poor kids need basic skills, not the arts.
Affluent parents wouldn’t accept this kind of schooling.
It is not education. It’s just schooling.
It’s schooling on the cheap for Other People’s Children.
Why the Reform Movement Is Foundering”
An English teacher explains that she always teaches non-fiction in her courses. What she can’t understand is the mindset of those who want to impose a statistical straight jacket on teachers. She wonders if the people who did this have sound educational values.
“The argument that English teachers are opposed to non-fiction because they love literature is an unsubstantiated generalization. Just because you love English doesn’t mean you don’t love non fiction as anyone of my English colleagues could attest to. One does not have to have a bias against non fiction to find arbitrary percentage points embedded in a badly conceived aspect of Common Core suspect. In fact, what interests me is the notion that pointing out weaknesses in the Common Core is a bias of any kind. Is the Common Core so well conceived that it would never need to be refined or reconsidered in any aspect? Really?
“The argument that English teachers are opposed to non-fiction because they love literature is an unsubstantiated generalization. Just because you love English doesn’t mean you don’t love non fiction as anyone of my English colleagues could attest to. One does not have to have a bias against non fiction to find arbitrary percentage points embedded in a badly conceived aspect of Common Core suspect. In fact, what interests me is the notion that pointing out weaknesses in the Common Core is a bias of any kind. Is the Common Core so well conceived that it would never need to be refined or reconsidered in any aspect? Really?
Corporate Reform Vs. Equity, Per Julian Vasquez Heilig
Julian Vasquez Heilig of the University of Texas is devoted to equity for students of color.
This has made him a critic of corporate reform.
And it may account for the name of his blog, which is “Cloaking Inequity.”
You should browse his blog archives. He writes with verve and humor, which we know is rare indeed among the
This has made him a critic of corporate reform.
And it may account for the name of his blog, which is “Cloaking Inequity.”
You should browse his blog archives. He writes with verve and humor, which we know is rare indeed among the
Should Public Schools Depend on Charity?
A reader asks a good question:
Call me a socialist, but I am totally against any & all fundraising for public schools. We as a nation should provide all our children equally with the highest possible standards we as a nation can afford. Private schools can do their own thing, whatever they can afford. (though it is my understanding that private schools pay teachers less than public schools). I don’t support or contribute in any way to fund raisers for either private or public schools. It sickens me that our children are sent out selling candy & holiday wrapping paper & cans of popcorn to raise money for special programs like art, gym, music in their schools, and that teachers have to help fund
Call me a socialist, but I am totally against any & all fundraising for public schools. We as a nation should provide all our children equally with the highest possible standards we as a nation can afford. Private schools can do their own thing, whatever they can afford. (though it is my understanding that private schools pay teachers less than public schools). I don’t support or contribute in any way to fund raisers for either private or public schools. It sickens me that our children are sent out selling candy & holiday wrapping paper & cans of popcorn to raise money for special programs like art, gym, music in their schools, and that teachers have to help fund
Common Core Nonsense
In an earlier post, I complained about the arbitrary ratios embedded in the Common CoreStandards for fiction and “informational text.” I asked who would police whether Mr. Smith and Ms. Jones was teaching too much or too little fiction.
Please read this exchange.
A reader commented as follows:
“You ask at the end of your post – “Whose wisdom decided on 50-50 and 70-30? Who will police the
Please read this exchange.
A reader commented as follows:
“You ask at the end of your post – “Whose wisdom decided on 50-50 and 70-30? Who will police the
Diane in the Evening 12-29-12 Diane Ravitch's blog
Diane Ravitch's blog: Why Is John Deasy Reconstituting a Successful School? by dianerav This is a puzzling story. At Crenshaw High School in Los Angeles, teachers, administrators, students, and the community leaders worked together to improve te school. It seemed to be working. The school made enormous gains. But then Superintendent John Deasey stepped in and pulled the plug. He will reconstitute the school, break it up into four small schools, fire the staff, and start over. The staff can reapply for heir old jobs, but half or more are not likely to be invited back. The school ... more »